The Most Important Advice about Money I Can Ever Give You

As early as I could remember, I knew that making money was already hard coded into my DNA. Allow me to share a few vivid childhood memories with you then afterwards, give you the most important advice that I will ever give.

Let me first bring you back to 1977. My mom and I were house-sitting for my Godparents for a couple of days while they were away on vacation with my cousins. I had just turned 5 years old and as a gift I was given a shiny, second hand instamatic camera with a free roll of film, 24 shots as I recall. “What to do with it?” I remember saying to myself. So I went around the house looking for things to take pictures of.

I did not have to look far because the moment the household helpers saw my shiny new camera, they started offering to pose for me to take their photos. With no hesitation, I counter offered to take their pictures for 1 Peso a click. They agreed. Kaching! I was in business and all I had to do was push a button. 24 pesos in 1977! Not bad for a 5 year old kid. (Of course my mom had to shoulder the expenses of actually developing the film. Thanks Mom!)

Then when I was in grade school, I started a small sideline racket by selling bubble gum scratch cards (made by Fleer, it was a set of 3 PACMAN scratch cards with free bubble gum) to my classmates for 12 pesos while my cost was 9 pesos (a 33% mark-up). At that time, my classmates went crazy for the stuff but were too lazy to go and buy it themselves. I saw an opportunity and took it. Every dismissal time, I would go to Shoppesville in Green hills to get the stuff, bring it to school the next day and do it over and over again. I made a killing and I was only 10 years old.

As I moved on to high-school, I entered yet another money making venture as a sketch artist that designed t-shirts for school events –Yes, I was pretty good in drawing back then. In one project, my seatmate made a deal with me. There is an upcoming school dance he said, I’ll come up with the money to finance producing of t-shirts for the dance but you design the logo and the artwork. I’ll give you 30% of the profits if we make money. but if we don’t make money then that’s my problem. I looked at him and said: I can have your drawing by tomorrow; it was a no-brainer deal.

By the end of the day, we had sold all the shirts. I netted P5,000 (Equivalent to P15000 today). I made money yet again, this time no capital needed from me.

Then, when I graduated from College, I decided to try the corporate life. Within a few weeks, I found a high paying job, eventually got hired by a bigger transnational company and then again by an even bigger multinational company all in a span of a few short years. My salary at this point was staggering. I started to change my lifestyle, bought anything I wanted on a whim justifying it by saying, well I deserve it anyway. Life was good. At least that’s what I thought.

You see for all the money that I would earn, I would spend it all on useless stuff because I thought that I could always make more of it anyway. In fact, I became so careless about it that my credit cards were always used up and for some reason would never be paid off.

I needed help but I didn’t know how or even where to start until I met my wife Jhoanna. The day I met her, was the day I became a true success.

She became my greatest inspiration. If you remember the movie of Jack Nicholson “As good as it gets” there is a line there that truly captures what I felt for her back then until now: “…You make me want to be a better man.”

How can I get married to Jhoanna, when I’m neck deep in debt and careless about money I asked. Well, I think Jhoanna overheard me because she seconded the motion.

So with a lot of “Tough Love”, she made it a priority to help me get out of debt, by teaching and helping me create a money management system to follow. Every Month I had to put in a big chunk of my earnings into a special bank account that we set up which I could never ever touch. She would use that to pay off my credit card debts first, then the rest would be for our wedding fund. It took us a little over 3 years to fully pay off my debts and get back on track but if it wasn’t for my wife, I would never be who I am today.

Today, I lead a group of companies that are 100% debt free and profitable. I am a successful businessman, forex trader and trainer. So my best advice ever for you in Money is this:

“All of your success in making money will mean nothing if you do not know how to manage your money properly. If you do not know how to manage your money get help from someone who does, better if it is your spouse.”

Thank you Jhoanna, because of you, I am and continue to strive to be a better man.

Here are your two assignments:

1. Scroll down to the bottom and comment on this article to participate

life really has to have two sides, the positive and the negative side, just like your wife who is the positive one and who is a builder and not a destroyer and you who followed her advices on paying up your debts and being able to do so with your cooperation and determination to succeed in life. thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.

Thanks for this great post, Mark. I’m earning a sideline in online venture but the money is not spent wisely. I have read your Money Management Simplified 1 and 2 and learned lessons from it. Your tips will now my guidelines in managing my money effectively.

By the way, kindly update me your training schedules every month. I want to post it in Entrepinoy Bank. If you have 125×125 banner on free forex trading seminar, I can put it in my site for free.

It is always a pleasure to hear from people such as yourself. I sincerely hope that you do indeed benefit from my lessons.
I will contact you very soon about your generous offer. Please know that I truly appreciate it.

I believe what you’ve written is a hundred percent accurate. When you are on your own and are making a good chuck of change, you tend to use it on a lot of useless things. Money management is so crucial for the future for yourself and the people that depend on you. It is great that your wife has been there by your side to get you out of the debt situation and am quite happy that you are successful. I took your class a few years ago and still follow what youve said with my current work. I will always be happy that I took your class and will also listen to your advice. Cheers!

I enjoy reading the article though I hope my partner will give time to read it because I believe I am on the other side of the coin with your wife. Being married, of course you know that it will always take the two of you to succeed.

Mark, I am both excited and “not sure if I can make it to the end” feeling on starting your lessons for the “How To Make Money Run After You”.
But, i’ll give it a try and hopefully finish it with your help and patience.
I am a full time government employee for twelve years now, a part-time Mom, a part-time blogger and a part-time businesswoman. But then still, both ends won’t meet.
Thank you for sharing! God bless!

Your blog truly inspired me. I’m looking forward to reading your future posts soon and apply it in my life. I am very positive that today you have given me the inspiration I needed to get closer to achieving my dreams. Thank you for you words and thank God for using you as his instrument. May you continue to bring and share wealth to others. 🙂

Hi Kenneth, I am very sure that your story of how you got rich will take on a new and more meaningful journey. Lots more to come! Please do help me share my purpose to all your friends and followers as well.

a ver useful reminder on financial education….. sometimes we think in terms of gross income versus net income…. and that we really need to have a personal financial plan and goals….Looking forward to learning a lot from you and doing our assignments 🙂

Hi Myyers, yes, coming soon as part of the ongoing lesson in Making Money Run After You. Stay tuned for that. In the mean time do share this and my other articles with all your friends. Like me, I’m sure they will also appreciate it.

Hi Glo, find your support system if your spouse is not willing, it can be your sister/brother/children, a close friend, someone who is knowledgeable with money and you can trust. Of course, you have us and this site to help you out. The Wealthflow Project is here to help you turn your life around. Best!

God is Great!!! hi mark, thanks for a nice blog and advice. I am just resigned recently i am a seafarer by profession but i am not happy and fulfilled on the job, i am longing to follow my heart’s desire and passion.For almost 4 months of stay and still keep on looking for oppurtunities that i could pursue my passion on writing.I don’t want to go back on seafaring I know that God has a better plan for me and i admire all of the filipinos who become an instrument for transformation. sir mark please do help me to help my self to be financially blessed and to fulfill my dream as a little pen of God that inspire others and give Glory to him.Best wishes i am willing to hand in hand to support your ministry to reach the grass root filipinos who needs most your help and advice.All praises and Glory to our Great God!

Great article it was like you were talking about my present situation, before I met my wife I was just spending without a care in the world, now she is slowly weaning me off that bad habit.
Your article has just reinforced my resolve and committment to manage my finances better (and to listen to my wife) especially as I’m about to start my own business. Thanks Mark.

Dear Sir Mark, thanks again for this inspiring article. I admire you for your natural gift in money making and I hope I can learn from it too. I started a small business before but it never lasted. I tried building another one but I failed again. I want to build another one again but this time, I can’t seem to start. Maybe because of my failures in the past that I’ve developed the fear that prevents me from acquiring true wealth.

Stumbling through your site and reading through your articles really blesses me. I hope in time, through your great advices, motivation and encouragement, I can have the courage and confidence to get up again. Thank you Sir Mark!

Noel, just remember you can never fail if you never quit. Together, we can do this. I’d like to recommend that you read this article series if you haven’t done so yet to give you even more hope: Business and the Start of a Beautiful Relationship Part 1 It is the story of how I recovered from my first major business blunder. Do comment on that article series if it helps you in any way. I have more articles to have you read in case it does

I totally agree with you. We must cultivate the habit of savings. We should not spend more than what we earn. We should only buy things that we need, not what we want. Use credit card with discipline. That I think is the secret of China.

The old belief is to save and to live below your means. Even though they have savings, the wealthy do not focus on saving, they focus on making their money “move”. The wealthy do not live below their means, they know how to use “leverage” to create even more wealth. Its not enough to save, it is not about living below your means, but it is about discipline that is for sure. I hope that you complete all the tasks in my assignments for you Josephine. You will see that the wealthflow project is a little different from what you are thinking of. Talk soon

11 years 🙂 but that was because of lots of trial and errors. Hopefully with the Wealth Flow Project, we will shorten that for you and everyone else who are serious about makin money and wealth chase after them.

Truly inspiring. We’ve been to many business ventures but still having a hard time meeting both ends. Will try to do my assignments to learn how to do things right on money management. More power to you Mark & Jhoanna.

Hello Mark,
Read this article and truly inspiring. Looking forward of the rest of your articles. I will follow you suggestion. I will ask help from my wife and will set up funds for our expenses and savings. It will be hard but its will be a start to something. …..

Hi CJ, do continue reading money management simplified parts 1,2,&3 to be enlightened further. The wealthy do not live below their means, they know how to use leverage in creating wealth and enjoying their life. Although they have savings, they do not focus on savings, instead they know how to make their money “move”. Many more lessons to come CJ, talk soon.

Hi Mark, another wonderful article. Having come from the banking world before, I see people mishandle their funds on a daily basis not due to fraud by scammers but fraud committed by people to themselves by not managing their money well. And this is not limited to clients but also bankers themselves. You would think they would be the ambassadors of proper money management but you will be surprised. They must definitely discover wealth flow project, I’ll surely invite them over. Cheers!

Hi Sir Mark, another awesome blog post. Yes, I agree with you on this one that the most important thing about money is how you manage it. Managing one’s finances can be quite hard for some but it is just a matter of discipline and changing one’s lifestyle. It became my habit that if I want something bad enough, I will look for ways and other means on how I can afford it but never to resort into debt. However, debt is not at all bad. There is good debt and bad debt. Good debt is always a resort for me but never bad debts. Thank you and more powers.

Ooops…I got lost trying to read as much of your articles as I could. I guess I tried to read too much too fast. I remember last night I was already reading about Money Leeches and I had already scanned my handwritten pledge to get rid of them…anyway, I’m back Mark and on the way to the next article.

Hi Mark! Congratulations for having a wife like Jhoanna who teach you and help you create money management system. But I truly admire you for at a very young age of 5 you already knew how to make money.

Mark, I never had entrepreneurial inclinations when i was young, so it was a challenge for me to alter my mindset when it comes to money management. That’s is why i find this article helpful to change the way i handle the flow of money that passes through my life. i hope i find someone to help me discipline myself and give me “tough love” to make it easier. congratulations!!!

yes, your anecdote is correct, even when were just kids we had somehow devised creative ways to earn ..this is our stepping stone into business.. . may we find the inner child in us and be not afraid to be creative and take risks in finding new (bsns) ventures… we still dnt know yet the meaning of ” nakakahiya”, “napahiya” and masabihang “mukhang pera”.. all we know is that it (selling) is just a game we enjoy to play

Mark,
I just wished i read these articles a few years back when i was earning more. Looking back, i cared less when it comes to managing my financial life. What I have achieved so far, after i got interested reading about personal finance and related topics (just like your articles), is to have a disciplined financial lifestyle. Thank you.

Better late than never Uly. Discipline is needed indeed, but there are ways to make building discipline fun. Please do continue reading the articles in the Wealth Plan when you signed up. We have some lessons on that as well.

This is so true! I’m a college student… and I constantly fail to manage my money! I’ve been notoriously blowing holes on my pocket! I learned how to track where my every peso goes and cut back unnecessary expenses which are not within my budget (turns out my unnecessary expenses were from eating too much. Thanks for writing this article!

wow, truely amazing blog, really inspiring… i am happy to say that i also have a Jhoanna well her name is Jennilen actually and she is my inspiration to pursue my dream of becoming a businessman. she opened my eyes to the entrepreneural world and also made me realize of my habit of spending too much on useless stuffs, thank you sir mark. hoping for more of your advises sir for a newbie like me in the business world

truely amazing blog, really inspiring… i am happy to say that i also have a Jhoanna well her name is Jennilen actually and she is my inspiration to pursue my dream of becoming a businessman. she opened my eyes to the entrepreneural world and also made me realize of my habit of spending too much on useless stuffs, thank you sir mark. hoping for more of your advises sir for a newbie like me in the business world

hi Mark,
I and my wife are public school teacher but still our income is not enough because we still have “Utang” until now. Maybe we lack money management. I will your idea about money management as soon as possible to get out of debt. I will look forward your next article. Thank you and more power.

My wife Joy is the one gifted with managing our finances. I thank God for her. Whatever I earn, I give it to her as a one-fund pool where she budgets – some for bank savings, some for expenses, and some for investments we jointly decide on.

i’ve been working abroad for 13 years now but don’t have much savings due to careless spending.. that’s why im still working here up to now.. i hope that your program will make me wiser in handling money.. God bless you po at nawa po ay marami pa kayong matutulongang kababayan natin..

Remembering childhood memories is not just fun but pretty refreshing especially when trying to get better in business and in life. Thanks for posting this Marichu. Come back often, more articles are being uploaded.

Thank you Mark! For another very inspiring story. I am a retired employee and have enrolled in Fashion Design (which is one of my dreams). I am interested in pursuing this career and eventually venturing into a business. I hope I can be just like you and Jhoanna. Thanks a lot again! Happy holidays! God bless….

Hi Sir Mark, we have the same childhood experience I’ve been a businesswoman at a very young age ahmm as far as I could recall i’ve been selling candies and toys when I was in grade school (grade 2)and it continous til I get in college but that was just a part time job that I used to do in summer and christmas vacation.. It really give joy in my little young heart whenever my small business venture grew big and profit much…
Pero ngayon I feel sad kc parang kulang yun salary ko start a business but im starting to save pra mkapag put khit a little business muna…
Thanks for the article…I like it… God bless!

Dear Mark, you are very fortunate that you married a very good wife who makes you want to be a better man. That she is a wonderful helpmeet or partner. Wish I got a better one who would help me up, not down. Bring out the best in me, not the worst. Anyway, I want to continue to read and learn and do. More power to you.

So true! Its not how much money you make but rather how you utilize it. Easier said than done though. But striving to get there. Current status: income</=expenses. Finding ways to lessen expenses and have more for my savings. Your articles inspire me that I'm on the right mindset and that it can be achieved. Thanks!

your article is so inspiring. It is true that the role of the wife is very important when it comes to money matters. Life of the family really depends on how wife and husband manage the financial aspects

Hi, MArk
It is always said that what matters is not the money we are earning but the money we save. Indeed, we tend to spend more as we earn more such that in the end, we are left with nothing. While I truly know this, why can’t I practice it? I hope with your help, I can find the answer.
God bless!

very interesting topic. My son age 19, and daughters age 13, 16,and 17 begun selling any items last 2o1o. Now , they understand more that business is not only for old people. Now that they are earning, they became more responsible. They believe more when they read your article. thank you.

honestly sir, i was really inspired by your story!!!
there’s a saying that, “BEHIND A MAN’S SUCCESS IS A WOMAN!!!”
thanks to mam jhoanna for making you a better man!!!
I WANT TO BE A BETTER MAN ALSO!!!
hope you could help me regarding this matter!!!
again, thanks sir!!!
I REALLY ENJOYED READING YOUR ARTICLE & I’VE LEARNED A LOT!!!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SIR!!!!
take care!!!
MORE POWER!!!
GOD BLESS!!!

Hi MArk! Great deal of thanks for all those inspiring words. I am in real deep debt right now, that I am evern afraid to tackle how deep it is. With your column in the newspaper and this site of yours (i got from one of your write ups in Mla. Bulletin), I felt the urge to charge , I believe there is no other way to begin except to step out from denial and tag yourself on the reality of “how much” debt you really have. Hopefully, I will be able to go back here and share the good news that I am debt free. Again thank for the effort… it is not easy to be in my position, but knowing that there are people who have the same predicament as mine and learning that they are able to make it, serves me well. You will never lose me in this site.. God bless and more power.

Hello Ira, sorry for not responding sooner. I know how it feels and believe me when I say, you can do it. First comes awareness, then comes a decision to improve and then comes RESOLVE to really improve. You can do this and we will be here whenever you need more advice. All the best to you Ira!

A supportive partner is definitely a non-substitutable ingredient to achieving successes, but than comes the other factors or variables that need to be considered as parts of the whole equation such as;
>if business DNA is not exactly hard wired in one’s genetic make-up? (eg. The environment in working in companies differs greatly from going solo flight)
>there is very little room for errors. Thus, hesitation sets in our minds!!!
Thanks Mark, I hope to learn more as I read on.

Hi Andy, agree, please read “How to make money run after you part 11” where I talk about the wealth flow blueprint and that wealth does not necessarily have to come from just business. A great corporate career is also one of them. Never change who you are, instead feed it what it needs to be GREAT!

Hi Sir Mark. I am cielo. I am sorry for those unreadable letters i posted. I was just trying if it can be posted since i tried it a while ago but my internet connection just run down. I was reading your articles out here and cant wait to read what follows.
More power!

Dear Mark,
Your childhood rackets also reminded me of how my brothers and I took santol from our backyard tree and tried to sell them at our gate. When our mother saw us, she asked us to just give them away to our neighbors. So that ended our great future in the fruit-selling business! Haha! Of course she just wanted to teach us to be charitable. Later on in life, she supported whatever endeavors we set out to do.
Thanks again- your article reminds me to hold on to whatever ideas I have for potential businesses.
MDL

I don’t usually post on blogs but had to on yours. You have a very easy to read writing style. I really enjoy posts about this topic, they give me a lot to reflect on. I don’t have time to read everything right now, I found this site when looking for something else on Yahoo, but I’ve bookmarked your homepage and will check back soon to see the latest thoughts.

I am here in the Philippines for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I work in our Employment Resource Center in Cebu helping mostly young adults learn job hunting skills and career planning. I also teach American Accent Training. I am going to use your articles in our class and recommend your website to my students. Great stories and great principles to learn–the sooner the better. Thank you for posting them and making them available at no charge.

Hi Mark, It’s a good thing that I read your article at Manila Bulletin that’s why I reached your site. I think that you were born an entrepreneur. I hope you could help me on how to invest my little savings that I have. thank you.

Wow! I can relate. I too was an entrepreneur when I was a kid. I’d do the same things you did. Buying and selling “junk food” and selling them to my classmates. And like you when I graduated and got a job I started having money problems because of my credit card. Our only difference was I didn’t have a partner who helped me. I had to sit down and figure out how I can cancel out my credit card debts. I remembered my mother’s envelope system and something I read from another wealth management book. I mixed those two systems and after a couple of years of belt tightening and agonizing self control, I managed to pay off my credit cards. Then I decided to just keep one credit card for purely emergency purposes or as supplement for buying big items (i.e. furniture etc) if I don’t have the cash to buy them.

This article is like a stroll down memory lane for me. It’s true…”tough love” is what most people need, either coming from a loved one or in some cases, tough love on yourself. Now…I’m excited to see what I can do to grow my money exponentially. I’m reading on….

Good day sir Mark..
Just read your article re the best advice you can give me re money, I’ll have to agree a hundred percentwith your advice. But sometimes having the discipline to manage our finances is one of the hardest lesson to learn & adapt. Hopefully. Iwould be able to discipline myself ,with your help, to accomplish financial freedom. Thanks

Wow thank you for your inspiring article! I remember when I was also a grader when I used to bring a box of candies and some school supplies to sell to my classmates.Just like you I was in business at an early age and still I am.I know your financial management techniques will help me become a better entrepreneur.Thank you again.

I am getting married soon, and as a husband I want to support my wife and our future family.
My future wife is like you, has a entrepreneurial mindset and my parents raised me and my siblings as an entrepreneur.

Thanks for your article, I learned a lot from it and looking forward to share it to her and practice it together soon.

hi Sir Mark, after reading thsi article, I knw I was on the right track. I always tell my husband to save some of his money but until now he can’t do it. He spend all his money for his mom’s medication, his brothers and sisters are depending on him. I am not selfish, but I can’t understand why he do that. I really hope I can convince him with your article. maybe by reading this he would made him realize that I’m right.
Thanks,
Wendy

I am earning now working in a BPO company. It is like I am living payday to payday. And it is not good. It is still hard to not know where my money go. I need to change my style in handling money. I also have debts to pay and hopefully by the end of the year it will be cleared. I will choose to set aside a percentage of money to allot debt payments in a special bank account that I will not ever touch. Thank you for the tip. 🙂

Reading this article, i remember when i was in kindergarten, lots of candies and chocolates in my bag going to school instead of buying in school canteen given by my auntie. so my classmates were start asking to give them candies, i thought it to myself of selling it to them instead of giving since we all had baons. funny thing i sell it in small cents than the stores or canteen. when i was home after class my parents saw i had coins and counting it for me to but again candies to sell for my classmates…now, you start teaching me to save money….thanks, hope i can do it well….

You are such an inspiration sir Mark! I”ve been wanying to attend your seminars but im staying out of the country for now.Hope you could help me find a solution on how can i able to actually learn more from you.I am really interested in forex trading and want to know the in and outs.
Thank you in advance once again!

i am seeing my husband through you now during salary day spending what we have like a one day millionaire then afterwards we have nothing left for the rest of the month to spend because we finish it all at the beginning of the month.i really hope the knowledge i’ll be learning here would be a great help in changing our lives.

Mark, you are absolutely right! This is the lesson that I have to learn the hard way. And I totally agree with your comment above that money management is not only about saving money and budgeting. I wish more people will discover your site and learn from your experiences and advices.

Hi mark, this is very true, I agree with you 100% , no matter how much money you earn if you do not have the skill to manage it, you will eventually lose it. I find this to be very educational that I actually asked my youngest son to join me in reading and working on your task…..I’m glad to be working with him in accomplishing every task…

Thanks again for this very simple yer very effective way of knowing where you are and where your money goes. .. with my son beside me he now knows how and where our money goes, his awareness in money matters has increased…. thanks

Hi Mark..Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m looking forward to read Money Management Simplified. I believe it will help me a lot.. By the way, I’ interested to trade in Forex, i heard about microlots and the investment is not that big, i hope to get some tips from you about it.

hi mark – thanks for your enterprenuership examples…in fact i’ve done this also during my first grades collecting scattered softdrink bottles in the school and returning it back to the canteen for a deposit…nice business:-) for extra money. my wife and i have been managing our finances fairly but from your shared expertise and tips we are sure we’ll capture and discover new things to learn for us to manage better. thanks:-)

No matter how good we are in making money but if we were not able to manage the abundance of it, that would be the biggest problem in ourselves. Having a companion that would also help you in thinking and executing the money management would be very helpful. Again, open communication in discussing this things is important. Two brains that both think and exchanging opinion will help us to achieve our goals in easy way.

These are valuable advise based on your own experience.
It is very easy to relate the events in your life to our own.
At times, if we are not contented with the simple things we have, the temptation to buy things that you like (instead of need) is very powerful specially when you have the money to get it.
You’re blessed to have a special partner to guide you out of it

Good evening Sir Mark,
Similarly per experience during grade school and having a spartan ” baon “, during the class I do drawing of naval ships, tanks, and WW2 fighter planes ( especially when I’m bored, though caught several times by the teacher plus the punishments ) and my seat mates are wealthy indians ( India ) and they offered to buy my drawings by 10 to 15 cents per sketch and they would simulate via pencil the actual combat bombardments and after which they would ask me to do more drawings ( it takes me around 15-30 minutes per sketch ) almost daily. My earnings would now afford me to buy more sodas and sweets but half of which I save in my piggy bank. In high school ( still being below middle class ) with the same clientelle plus pinoy classmates , I was selling to them ( this is embarrassing, perhaps naughtiness is part of growing up ) ” bomba booklets ” for PhP 2.50 each and my capital is only around PhP 0.50 to 1.00. Per unit of sale would afford me to buy one Crispa T-shirt. In college to supplement my “baon” and bus fares, I was selling bangus ( wholesale or around 5 tons ) in Divisoria for a fish pond owner ( a family friend ) from Roxas City to a designated “suki” broker. He handsomely pays me PhP 150 a day ( circa 1973-1979 / averaging 4 days a month ) plus 30 to 50 kilos of large bangus that I could carry back home. Since the goods are persishable in nature, I missed classes and exams thus some failing grades in my BSIE course. After graduation, I was employed by a very big corporation of which I earned 2 more degrees ( MBA and a Bac Degree in Supply Chain Management ) and where also I met my wife who doesnt have the skills ( no offense ) to do the expense budgeting.
Cheers

A husband and a wife share the responsibility in educating each other about finances. The one who is more conscious of finances should never just leave it at that, the point of the article is about helping the one who is financially unaware. From the looks of it, it is you, Walter, that has to guide your wife and children to be better at finances. I wish you and your family all the best now and forever more.

Hello again sir mark, i’m presently going through the same problem as you did before (credit card debt) i hope i will be able to pay it off soon, hope to get more tips and learnings from you so i could be debt free and stress free. I really needed somebody to teach me money management and i’m happy i read about you.

I believe that there is no accident or coincidence in life. Just like you met your wife to give balance to your life and make you a better person. God intended to use people to be channel of blessings to others. Your intention and motive to help individuals in their finances will really make a difference. Keep it up! God bless you more.

I do have credit cards too, and that’s my problem. I am using it to buy groceries for us. And even though I am not neck-deep in debt, I just realized that I work just to pay-off my credit card. Everytime, during payday, it will just be used to pay my amount due for the 15th and the 30th of the month. I tried to save at least 10% of my income, but everytime, there are emergencies, I cannot help but use them until I am back to zero or even negative. My finacials are fluctuating. Sometimes I have a lot of money, sometimes I am zero or negative. I can never get the plus. Unmindfully, the salary just gets away like magic. 🙁

Hi Mark! I’d like my children to grow up to be as enterprising as you. I’ve just started venturing into business, albeit very “small time.” We’ve all got to start somewhere, right? Whatever I will learn from the experience, I hope to be able to teach my kids. Great article!

Today. I have found out the root of my financial problem – NOT MANAGING IT ALL. As I have shared, I’m earning not so high but above average because I always seek a job and a company that would offer me above average because I my beliefs, If I could earn higher and better with my job then I could support my personal needs and wants and the same for my wife and to my son. BUT, I think I was wrong on that. I realized that it’s not how much you take but how you have managed it to make big and of use the longer time and of my advantage.

Thanks for another inspiring article. I’m a full time housewife for 3 years now. I’m a former bank employee and I am the one managing our finances from my husband’s salary. Budgeting takes a lot of discipline. I hope that with your articles, I can manage better our finances and eventually reach our financial goal.

Hello Mark, what you said about managing your money well eventhough how small or big your income is really true..My husband is a seaman currently on board and im a nurse working here, and there are times we have problems with credit cards but slowly and surely we are helping each other to fix it and with the help of your articles i know it will guide us with proper money management. Being a wife it falls on your hands to be a helpful spouse to use and invest both of your combined income while your husband is away. Ive realized i still had a lot of work to do regarding this..we are planning to start a safe and secure investment with our savings in the near future..thank your for your interesting and valuable articles… More power…

I can relate much on the credit cards messes. My wayward card swiping which most things I bought were not that very important. So good you had financial mentor. Though I come across with you seemingly late but better late than never. I solved my credit card mess anyway years ago and yes credit cards should be controlled by the owners not the other way around.
I shall keep reading.

Thank you for this blog, Mark. I’m all for financial literacy and have already cultivated the habits of saving ang investing. Yet money management is something I have yet to explore. I’m glad I found your blog. Looking forward to reading your articles.

Inspirational. Good to know I’m on the right track. When I married my wife, financially I was in the red. My wife still married me even though she knew this. As the saying goes, “..through thick and thin” , we set a goal to get out of debt, managed how we use the money from salary and in four years time, we were able to get out of debt. And now we are trying to build wealth by trying to learn how.

I manage my money by having a monthly budget in excel and really follow it. I just want to know how I could better manage it so I don’t feel that I am tight in money. I have various savings accounts and two types of investment.

Hi sir Mark!
This article reminds me of my childhood. When I was in elementary, I used to an entrepreneur too.. well, I made beads out of used magazines and I made some bracelets and I sold them to my classmates. When I was in highschool, I made keychains or cellphone chains out of ribbons. 🙂 And then sold them to my classmates. And then in college, I have this AVON thing and help my mom to sold products. 🙂 And then now, I’m a teacher, teaching business 🙂

At first, I envied your childhood stories because I never had that kind of thinking when I was young. I thought how lucky you were that you had people around you who influenced you to think about how to make money. As I continue reading, at the back of my mind, I was thinking if only I had started young or if my parents were financially literate, I’d be a millionaire by now.

Then, I learned about what happened to you after getting out of college, how you splurged and mismanaged your money. I felt comforted that someone like you who started young, and knew how to make money and, seems like it, is well educated could fall in the same traps of mismanagement as any other person. Your story shows how we learn greatly from our mistakes.

Thanks for sharing your story because this makes me want to continue working towards my goal, though I started late.

Hi Sir. My boyfriend is in the same situation as you were when i met him a year and a half ago. He bought a car when he got his first promotion and used his credit card like a madman. Now all of his salary goes to paying for the car (monthly dues, gas, maintenance, insurance, etc), rent and utilities. With about 2k left to pay 100k worth of credit card debt. He does not overspend anymore but because there is nothing left he ends up borrowing a couple of thousand bucks to sustain him til the next pay check. It might have been easy for you to get out of debt. But is there still hope for him?

Dear Sir,
I have a very traumatic experiences about money in my business. I have so many uncollected accounts especially in one province, in some LGU ‘s and some personal borrowed money from me that remains unpaid… Because of these I am now suffering from debts to my supplier and even debts from my friend that’s why I am very eager to learn more about you and hoping that your knowledge will help me. Thank you

Totally agree on your advice. Even though how much you earn if you still don’t know how to manage money it will be transferred to the once who knows how. Very practical and wonderful lesson. Blessings sir Mark

Thank you sir, it seems to me your wife IS you true wealth. If it was not for her I would not be reading your article and you would probably still be in your job and still neck deep paying your debts….hmm its kind of making me think I should get a wife too huh?

Awesome!great article. My realization is that its difficult to grow our hard-earned money as long as we don’t have proper money management system. Kahit may multiple income streams pa tayo, if we keep on spending unwisely,we will always end up short of budget. Thanks very much Sir Mark for the article. Keep up the good work of sharing your wisdom to all. GB!

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Excerpts from Our Life Changing Articles

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10000

Praise for Mark and Jhoanna’s Articles

"Mark,Great ideas. I really appreciate what you are doing. These are practical lessons that all of us should learn. I am grateful."

-Fred Murillo

"Hi sir Mark, What a powerful mind blowing technique in eradicating "Money Leeches" even if it seems heartless, the truth of the matter is you have to do it or either you will remain in the same financial state...More power...from Cartagena,Colombia."

-Jovanie Vargas

"The illustrations you've shown make it so easy to understand! Thanks Mark! I'll share this to my friends! I'll definitely promote this site."

-Ronald Valerios

"Hi Sir Mark!

Thanks for the insight you are sharing with us. I would like to share this story to my husband whose working so hard. He might slow down towards his work habit when he read this story.
Belated happy b-day to your wife!"

-Kelly Raquel

"Hi Mark!

I really love reading self-help articles, self-help/investment books. I'm indeed thankful to have read your article. It is truly a mind-opener to employees and would-be entrepreneurs.

I've been working for multi-national companies for 7 years already, and I have always ingrained a "diligent" attitude. I feel that without it, I won't be that successful in anything I do. In some way, that's a good habit, however, in the long run it's exhaustive. It's exhaustive accomplishing everything from A-Z, whereinfact there is a much easier process in achieving a certain result.

I've been exercising to work smart. I know this will spell a great difference. I thank you for inspiring us. I do hope I could sttend one of your seminars. I keep on browsing your seminar schedules but I always fail to participate. This time, I need to commit to myself to enroll and to sttend. I know for sure that I will learn a lot. I know it will greatly help me in my employment life. Compensation from employment is not enough especially, now that I have a family and a baby. Moreover, I'm thinking to venture into entrepreneurship soon.

Thank you very much. Belated Happy Birthday to your wife. Hope to meet both of you in person. I am really very much interested to learn.

God bless you!"

-Sheryl Tan

"Hi Mark, Wonderful article. I felt that it was as much as a personal reflection as it was a teaching article. it is sincere and clear. An especially good read for people who are facing self-doubts in life, for indeed no amount of planning could prepare you for life, for it will throw curveballs at you from any which angle it wants. You just need to know where you want to go and have the will to pursue it in order to weather the storm and conquer the challenges. Cheers!"

More Praise Still for Mark and Jhoanna’s Articles

"Hi Mark,

A lot of people have been blessed in having the opportunity to come across with this information including me. Being an automotive service consultant here in North America is so challenging & honestly I've been looking up to my fellow consultants who by nature are I would say Yangs. Our upsell results never goes far in volume comparatively even though they do a lot of talking more than I do.

Thank you so much. This piece of information has again reassured my confidence in my personal conviction that truly you can earn a customer's trust by going through the Yin's way. I am sure a lot of people are interested including me to attend your seminar but I am proximity challenged right now being here in North America. It would be awesome if you can come up with Webinars on similar topics in the future. Webinar is the trend here in North America & it's really effective & flexible. I strongly recommend you give it a shot sometime.

Again, congratulations to all my fellow Yins & I'm equally hats off to all them Yangs including you Mark! ;- )"

-Dax

"Hi mark thanks for the inspiration, motivation, experiences that you shared to us, you really gods gift to us, keep it up! Happy monster pips to you godbless:-)"

-Mark Arevalo

"Thanks for sharing this Mark! We tried discounting before because we thought it would generate the volume we need - we were wrong; and then when we increased our price, profit actually grew by at least 7% even with customer fall-outs, so can attest to this. More Power!"